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Amazon, like any large undertaking, is composed of segments. North America and its international operations, the visible face of the company, account for the bulk of sales – 82% of the $716.9 billion reported in 2025. They are, for the most part, functional. They generate revenue. They provide employment. But the true engine, the quiet heart of the machine, resides in Amazon Web Services (AWS). A business that, while not always remarked upon in the breathless pronouncements of market analysts, consistently delivers a disproportionate share of the profit – $45.6 billion, a respectable sum, even in these inflated times.

Turns out, they’re panicking. The S&P North American Technology Software Index, which sounds like something they invented to justify a quarterly newsletter, is down over 30%. It’s a bear market for software, apparently. Which feels…dramatic. Like the industry is suddenly having a midlife crisis, buying a motorcycle, and listening to a lot of Steppenwolf.

The S&P 500, they tell me, is up a ridiculous amount over the last three years. Eighty percent, apparently. Which is…fine. Except, lurking beneath the surface, are a couple of signals that remind me of that time I accidentally signed up for a competitive eating contest. Everything looked promising at first, but then the hot dogs started piling up, and I realized I’d made a terrible mistake. These aren’t flashing neon warnings, more like subtle shifts in the air pressure. Things are…tight.

Let’s have a peek at two particularly plump specimens: Coca-Cola (KO 0.41%) and Pepsico (PEP 0.75%). They’re not exactly brimming with sunshine and lollipops, mind you – they’re businesses, after all – but they are remarkably good at turning water and potatoes into a stream of income for sensible people like yourself.

Fortunately, Alphabet, displaying a resilience one might expect from an entity with such vast resources, has begun to reassert its dominance. Some even claim it now possesses the leading artificial intelligence, a bold assertion, of course, but one that seems to be gaining traction. Consequently, its performance over the past year has surpassed even the capricious whims of the S&P 500. And, dare I say, it is likely to continue doing so. The reasons, like the layers of bureaucracy within the company itself, are numerous and surprisingly intricate.

The collaboration centres on Joby’s adoption of Nvidia’s IGX Thor Platform, intended to bolster its Superpilot autonomous flight technology. It’s a curious alignment, highlighting the diverging paths of Joby, Archer Aviation, and that spectral presence, Boeing’s Wisk. Each firm appears to be playing a different game, though whether any of them understand the rules remains to be seen.

Right now, the name on everyone’s lips, and in every algorithm, is Nvidia. (NVDA 2.21%). It’s the obvious play. Even the folks who wouldn’t know an AI from a hole in the ground have heard of it. It’s been riding a wave for a while now, and waves, as anyone who’s spent time near the ocean knows, eventually break. But this one feels different. The projections are… substantial.

Amazon, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Broadcom. These are the names everyone’s throwing around. And look, I get it. They’re big companies. They make things. But the sheer assumption that they’re destined for this…monumental growth? It’s just… presumptuous. And the charts! All these glossy charts, like they actually mean something. It’s all just lines on a screen. Lines!